Pityriasis Rosea Treatment Tips

Here's a little post from the Mom Files. I just want to share this info.

Up front I want to say that according to all doctors pityriasis rosea has no treatment, with the possible exception being exposure to sunlight. All the following information is merely anecdotal experience I gathered while my daughter (age 8yrs) had the disease.

Pityriasis Rosea is a common skin rash most often in children ages 10 and up.

As soon as my daughter was diagnosed I went online looking for treatment ideas. Our doctor had said there was nothing to do but wait it out. The idea of looking at my daughter covered in spot for the 3-4 months predicted, drove me to search out 'something" to do.The only answers I found online, were going to tanning beds. With that tanning mom barely out of the news I wasn't about to try to take an 8 yer old to a tanning salon. Also my daughter is extremely fair and even 15 minutes in the sun could burn her. So that was definitely out.

Luckily my day job is as a massage therapist and I share office space with a lot of herbalist and naturolpaths. Here is their advice which comes under two headings.

One group went along the lines of fighting any virus, which they suspect pityriasis rosea is, but aren't sure.

1 Take lots of Vitamin C , and D

2 Take Echinacea

3 Make home made stock soup (boil your own bones for stock)

4 Get lots of rest

The other group suspects pityriasis rosea is related to an auto immune issue

1 Remove gluten and dairy from the diet

2 Take probiotics

3 Take fish oil

Finally the last thing I did was avoid fragranced products

1 Only use fragrance free shampoo, soap, and lotions

2 No baths

3 Short cool showers

My daughter's rash is barely visible any more and we are just at the 3 week mark. I can't guarentee any of this is the cause, it may have cleared up as quickly if I'd done nothing. But, it certainly didn't hurt her.

Also pityriasis rosea is an extreme vague disease, no one seems to be too clear what it is or how it will present itself. I want to mention my daughter's did spread to her face, since so many sites said it doesn't spread to the face. I was told not to worry unless it begins to appear onthe  palms of hand or the soles of the feet.

Good luck if you have just discovered you or your child has this. Aside for vanity it is pretty harmless.